JP2003035842A - Optical axis alignment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To complete optical axis alignment in a short time while suppressing a rise in facility cost. SOLUTION: An optical axis alignment device 100 which is equipped with a 1st support member holding a light-emission side optical component 60 and a 2nd support member holding a light-reception side optical component 70 receiving its light and aligns the optical axes of the light-emission and light-reception side optical components 60 and 70 with each other is equipped with a position detection device 147 which has a wider light-receivable range than that of the light-reception side optical component 70 and receives the light emitted by the light-emission side optical component 60 to detect its position and a detection-side moving device which can move the position detecting device 147 independently of 1st and 2nd support members and freely moves the position detection device 147 to and away from the light-emission side optical component 50.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical axis alignment device for performing optical axis alignment between optical components, and more particularly to a technique for shortening the alignment time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Optical axis aligning devices are used for light emitting parts, light receiving parts,
The optical axes of the optical fibers and the optical waveguides are matched with each other when they are combined. If the optical axes are aligned with high precision,
Not only can the light transmission efficiency of the optical device be increased, but also noise can be reduced and the photoelectric transmission distance can be lengthened.

Here, as a conventional example, a case of manufacturing an LD module 50 as shown in FIG. 7 which is a kind of optical device will be described.

The LD module 50 is a light emitting side block 60.
And a light receiving side block 70. The light emitting side block 60 includes an LD 56 housed inside the case 52, a lens 58 fixed to the case 52, and a protective sleeve 59 covering these. The light-receiving side block 70 includes an optical fiber 62 and the optical fiber 62.
And a sleeve 66 for fixing the ferrule 64.

FIG. 8 shows an optical axis aligning device 10 for optically aligning the light emitting side block 60 and the light receiving side block 70.
The Y-axis stage 1 is provided on the base 12 of the optical axis alignment device 10.
4, X-axis stage 16, θz-axis stage 18, θx-θ
The y-axis stages 20 are stacked so that they can move independently of each other. The θx-θy axis stage 20 is provided with a connector 22, and the connector 22 holds the light emitting side block 60 which is a light emitting side optical component. As a result, the light emitting side block 60 is allowed to rotate in the θx, θy, and θz directions in addition to being slid in the XY plane.

The base 12 is provided with a first Z-axis guide 26 and a second Z-axis guide 28 via a bracket 24. The first Z-axis guide 26 is provided with a first arm 30 that holds the sleeve 66 of the light-receiving side block 70.
The Z-axis guide 28 is provided with a second arm 32 that holds the ferrule 64. Two arms 3 like this
0 and 32 can be independently moved in the Z-axis direction by welding the protective sleeve 59 and the sleeve 66 after the alignment is completed, and then opening only the first arm 30 upward to make the sleeve 66 and the ferrule. This is because it is necessary to weld 64. The YAG laser 34 used for the above-mentioned welding is, as shown in FIG.
It is generally installed in a location.

Next, the centering step will be described.

Alignment is a work for aligning the end face of the optical fiber 62 with the focal point of the light generated from the LD 56 collected through the lens 58.

First, the light-receiving side block 70 and the light-emitting side block 60 are manually fixed to the optical axis alignment device 10. At this point, a relative optical axis shift of about 100 to 500 μm has already occurred. This is greatly affected by not only the error at the time of fixing but also the assembling error of the LD 56 and the lens 58 in the light emitting side block 60 itself.

The core of the end face of the optical fiber 62 has a diameter of 10
The range is extremely narrow because the range of light that can be received by the LD 56 (hereinafter referred to as the receivable range K) is about 20 μm. Therefore, in the initial state before alignment, the light of the LD 56 is often completely out of the receivable range K of the optical fiber 62, and the positional relationship between the light receiving side block 70 and the light emitting side block 60 is grasped. I can't even do that. As a method for solving this problem, as shown in FIG.
Path A along the light-emitting side block 60 using the axis stage 14
A method of making a spiral turn along the direction is often adopted. If this turning radius is gradually increased, the light of the LD 56 will eventually enter the receivable range K of the optical fiber 62, and the optical axis aligning device 10 will determine the positional relationship between the light receiving side block 70 and the light emitting side block 60. You can check. The above process is referred to herein as the first alignment process.

After the first aligning step is completed, the second aligning step is started.

Even in the light receivable range K, the degree of loss of light energy varies depending on the location. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately detect the point where the loss is the smallest, that is, the point where the light transmission efficiency is high. Therefore, first, while keeping the irradiation power of the LD 56 constant, the entire light emitting side block 60 is slightly moved to detect the peak point of the light energy detected by the optical fiber 62. In this way, the alignment on the submicron order is finally realized.

[0013]

As can be seen from the above contents, the first aligning step is a so-called "groping state", so that there is a large time loss. For example, the second alignment process may take about 1 minute, whereas the first alignment process may take 5 minutes or more. Further, for example, if the LD 56 has a failure from the beginning, the failure is detected because the first alignment step is not completed, so that there is a problem that it takes much time to detect the failure of the LD 56.

As a technique for solving this problem, there is a conventional optical axis alignment device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-61752. This optical axis aligning device 8 shown in FIG.
0 is different from the optical axis alignment device 10 shown in FIG. 8 in that the arm 84 holding the light receiving side block 70 is movable not only in the Z axis direction but also in the XY axis directions. On the other hand, the table 82 supporting the light emitting side block 60 is fixed to a base (not shown). A semiconductor position detecting device (PSD) 86 whose optical axis direction is parallel to the optical fiber 62 and whose end faces coincide with each other is installed on the tip side of the arm 84. The PSD 86 has a function of detecting the position of the light that is incident within its own receivable range.

In the optical axis aligning device 80, the PSD 86 is moved above the light emitting side block 60 in the first aligning step. The light receiving range of this PSD 86 is an optical fiber
Since it is wider than the receivable range K of 62, the focus position of the laser light can be accurately detected even if there is an assembly error. Therefore, based on the position information, the arm 84
Is further moved to position the light receiving side block 70 above the light emitting side block 60, the laser light can be positioned within the detectable range K of the optical fiber 62, and the second centering step can be started immediately. It will be possible.

However, in the present optical axis aligning device 80,
Since it is necessary to move the PSD 86 above the light emitting side block 60 while retracting the light receiving side block 70, the horizontal stroke of the arm 84 must be set large. Moreover, it is necessary to position and align the arm 84 with extremely high accuracy in the second aligning step.

After all, it is necessary to incorporate a guide mechanism having both a large stroke function and a highly accurate positioning function into the arm 84, which causes a problem that the optical axis aligning device 80 becomes very expensive. According to the study by the present inventor, it is considered that it is necessary to further improve the alignment accuracy due to the progress of the technology, but it is irrational to further increase the positioning accuracy while maintaining a large stroke. Was inferred.

There is an idea that the stroke of the arm 84 is shortened by bringing the light-receiving block 70 and the PSD 86 into close proximity to each other in the present apparatus 80, but by doing so, the light-receiving block 70 is manually operated. The work space for fixing to the arm 84 becomes narrow. Also, during work, the hand or the light-receiving side block 70
If the SD86 is touched, the detection accuracy of the PSD 86 easily deteriorates, making accurate positioning difficult. From the above, it was actually difficult to bring them close together.

Further, in the optical axis aligning device 80, the arm 8
4 has a structure in which both the light-receiving side block 70 and the PSD 86 are installed and both are moved integrally, so that there is a problem that the moving weight increases and the inertial force increases and the positioning accuracy of the arm 84 deteriorates. . Further, in this device, it is considered that a relatively lightweight PSD 86 is adopted to reduce the moving weight, but an increase in the moving weight to some extent cannot be avoided. In addition, the PSD 86 that can detect the laser beam is not commercially available in the market, and it is necessary to specially design and manufacture the PSD 80 for the device 80, which causes a problem that the manufacturing cost of the device 80 is further increased. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical axis aligning device capable of significantly shortening the aligning time by an extremely rational structure.

[0021]

The present invention comprises a first supporting member for holding a light emitting side optical component for emitting light and a second supporting member for holding a light receiving side optical component for receiving the light.
An optical axis aligning device that aligns the first and second support members relatively to each other so as to increase the amount of light transmitted between the light emitting side and the light receiving side optical components. A position detecting device having a wider light receiving range than the light receiving range and receiving light emitted from the light emitting side optical component to detect the position of the light, and the position detecting device including the first and second supporting members. And a detection-side moving device that is movable independently of each other and that moves the position detecting device so that the position-detecting device can be moved toward and away from the light-emitting-side optical component.

The inventor of the present invention moves the position detecting device independently of the first and second supporting members to obtain the first and second supporting members.
We focused on reducing the stroke of the support member.

In the present invention, at the time of position measurement by the position detecting device, the position detecting device is brought close to the light emitting side optical component by utilizing the detecting side moving device. As a result, it is not necessary to largely move the first and second support members as in the conventional case, so that the stroke amount of the first and second support members can be reduced and the positioning accuracy can be set high. In other words, it becomes possible to specialize the guide function for centering with a short stroke and high accuracy, and the apparatus cost of the optical axis centering apparatus can be reduced accordingly.

Further, it is not necessary to move the position detecting device in the final alignment. This is because the first and second support members are independent of the position detection device, and as a result,
The moving weight during alignment is reduced, and alignment speed and alignment accuracy can be improved. This means that when selecting a position detection device, the restriction of compactness and light weight is released, and it becomes possible to actively use commercially available CCD cameras, line sensors, etc. This will lead to further reduction.

Further, since the position detecting device can be retracted from the optical parts when it is not necessary, a wide working space should be secured when the light emitting side / light receiving side optical parts are attached to the first and second supporting members. Will be able to. The term “independent” as used herein means a state in which the relative positional relationship between the position detection device and the first and second support members can be changed.

As the structure of the detecting side moving device, for example, a member independent of the first and second supporting members, which is capable of holding the position detecting device, and the bracket, which is the first and second brackets, can be used. It is preferable to include a detection-side guide mechanism that is movable independently of the two support members and that guides the position detection device so that the position-detection device can be moved toward and away from the light-emitting side optical component.

Further, particularly in the above invention, it is preferable that the position detecting device is an image pickup device, and the position of the light emitted from the light emitting side optical component is detected by performing image processing on a video image picked up by the image pickup device. .

Imaging devices such as CCD cameras, line sensors, and image pickup tubes are capable of highly accurate measurement by image processing, and many of them are on the market and are relatively low in price. Further, unlike PSD and the like, in the case of the image pickup device, it is not necessary to position the light receiving surface at the focal point of light, and the mounting position can be flexibly selected. The reason for this is that when measuring the position of light by image processing as in an imaging device, it is possible to calculate the center of even a slightly diffused spot light, and rather the one where the light is diffused. This is because the detection accuracy can be improved.
Even if the size of the image pickup device is slightly large, it is possible to move the image pickup device closer to or further from the light receiving side optical component by using the detection side guide mechanism as described above, so ensure a sufficient working space. You can

Further, in the above invention, a light receiving side guide mechanism capable of separating the light receiving side optical component from the light emitting side optical component is provided, and the light receiving side optical component causes the light receiving side optical component to move. It is desirable that the position detection device is brought close to the light emitting side optical component while being separated from the component to detect the position of light emitted by the light emitting side optical component.

It is also preferable to position the position detecting device by a predetermined stopper when the position detecting device is brought close to the light emitting side optical component side. By doing so, the positioning accuracy of the position detection device by the detection side guide mechanism can be stabilized.

In the above invention, the case where the light-receiving side optical component is movable is shown as an example. On the contrary, the light-emitting side optical component is movable in the direction perpendicular to its own optical axis. However, both the light emitting side optical component and the position detecting device may be moved to a predetermined location to detect the position of the light emitted by the light emitting side optical component.

[0032]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Since the present embodiment shows a case where the LD module 50 described with reference to FIG. 7 is manufactured, the same reference numerals are given to the LD module 50, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 shows an optical axis aligning device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The optical axis aligning device 100 optically aligns the light emitting side block 60 (light emitting side optical component) and the light receiving side block 70 (light receiving side optical component) of the LD module 50. A Y-axis stage 114, an X-axis stage 116, a θz-axis stage 118, and a θx-θy-axis stage 120 are laminated in this order on a base 112 of the optical axis aligning apparatus 100 so that each of them moves independently. Has become. The θx-θy-axis stage 120 is provided with an LD connector 122. The connector 122 corresponds to the first supporting member in the present invention and has a function of holding the light emitting side block 60. The LD 56 emits light when a predetermined electric power is supplied from the connector 122 to the LD 56.

The base 112 is provided with a first Z-axis guide 126 and a second Z-axis guide 128 via a bracket 124. The first Z-axis guide 126 has a light-receiving block 7
The first arm 130 for holding the sleeve 66 of No. 0 is provided, and the second Z-axis guide 128 is provided with the second arm 132 for holding the ferrule 64. The first and second arms 130 and 132 correspond to the second support member in the present invention, and the first and second Z-axis guides 126 and 1 are also provided.
Reference numeral 28 corresponds to the light receiving side guide mechanism in the present invention. Therefore, the first and second Z-axis guides 126 and 128
Guides the first and second arms 130 and 132 in the optical axis direction of the light-receiving side block 70, so that the light-receiving side block 70 can be brought closer to or separated from the light-emitting side block 60. It should be noted that the YAG laser 134 used for welding after completion of the centering process is 120 as shown in FIG.
It is installed at a total of 3 places at intervals of degrees.

As shown enlarged in FIG. 3, the base 1
12 further includes a detection mechanism 140 including a position detection device 147 and a detection-side moving device. The detection-side moving device specifically includes a bracket 142 that holds the position detection device 147, and a detection-side guide mechanism 143 that allows the bracket 142 to move, and the bracket 142 is connected to the connector 122 or the first / second bracket. Second arm 13
It is a member independent of 0 and 132. Further, the detection side guide mechanism 143 is installed between the base 112 and the bracket 142, and the bracket 142 is attached to the base 112.
Has a function of relatively moving. As a result, the detection side moving device can move the position detection device 147 independently of the light emitting side and light receiving side blocks 60 and 70 to bring the position detecting device 147 close to and away from the light receiving side block 60.

The positioning when the position detecting device 147 approaches the light emitting side block 60 is performed by a stopper 112A installed on the base 112. In the present embodiment, a shock absorber 112B capable of finely adjusting the stop position is also installed together with the stopper 112A, and it is considered that the stop position accuracy is further improved. That is,
Accurate positioning on the order of several microns can be achieved by a simple structure in which the bracket 142 is brought into contact with the stopper 112A. Particularly, in the present embodiment, the position detection device 147 is inserted between the light-receiving side block 70 and the light-emitting side block 60 while the light-receiving side block 70 rises and is separated from the light-emitting side block 60. The position of the light emitted by the block 60 (LD 56) is detected.

Specifically, the position detecting device 147 is an image pickup device, and includes a diffusion lens 148 and a CCD camera section 150.
And an image processing device 152 for calculating the image captured by the CCD camera unit 150. LD5
The light emitted from 6 is magnified by the diffusion lens 148,
CCD camera unit 1 with a slightly larger spot diameter
It is incident on 50. The detectable range of the position detecting device 147 is set to be larger than the detectable range of the optical fiber 62, and is set to a circular area having a diameter of about 2000 μm here. The diffused lens 148 diffuses the laser light and then captures it as an image.
This is to improve the accuracy of laser light detection by the CCD camera unit 150. In particular, since the position information is derived here by image processing, the accurate position of the optical axis of the laser light can be easily obtained by calculating the center position of the diffused laser light.

Next, the centering step will be described.

First, an operator sets the light-receiving side block 70 and the light-emitting side block 60 on the optical axis alignment device 100. After that, by lowering the light-receiving side block 70, the sleeve 66 and the protective sleeve 59 of the light-emitting side block 60 are brought into contact with each other, and the optical axes of the two are made parallel. However, at this time point, the optical axes of the both are displaced by about 100 μm or more, and the receivable range of the optical fiber 62 is a circle with a diameter of about 20 μm. I will end up.

Therefore, in the apparatus 100, the light receiving side block 70 is raised by the first and second Z-axis guides 126 and 128, and the image pickup device 147 is inserted between the light receiving side block 70 and the light emitting side block 60. The laser light from the LD 56 is received by the CCD camera unit 150, and the X-ray of the laser light is received.
-Measure accurate position in the Y plane. as a result,
The shift amount between the optical axis of the laser light and the optical axis of the optical fiber 62 can be calculated.

After the measurement is completed, the image pickup device 147 is retracted from above the light emitting side block 60, and the light receiving side block 60 is lowered again. At this time, the light emitting side block 60 is moved by the X axis stage 116 and the Y axis stage 114 based on the above calculation result, and the laser light emitted from the LD 56 is positioned within the receivable range of the optical fiber 62. Since the position measurement error of the laser light by the detection mechanism 140 is about several μm, the light receiving range (diameter of about 2
If it is 0 μm, the positioning can be surely performed. At this point, the first alignment step is completed, and the required time is about several seconds.

Then, the second centering step is started as in the conventional case. Specifically, while slightly moving the light emitting side block 60, the power of the laser light of the LD 56 is measured by an optical power detection device (not shown) connected to the optical fiber 62. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the peak point T of the optical power P can be detected within the receivable range, so that the location T is used as the alignment point. The time required for this second centering step is about 1 minute as in the conventional case.

When the alignment is completed as described above, the protective sleeve 59 of the light emitting side block 60 and the sleeve 66 of the light receiving side block 70 are again brought into contact with each other, and thereafter,
Both are laser welded with a YAG laser 134,
Further, the sleeve 66 and the ferrule 64 are similarly laser-welded. As a result, the LD module 50 is completed.

In the first embodiment, the image pickup device 147 is moved independently of the light emitting side and light receiving side blocks 60 and 70. Therefore, since it is not necessary to move the blocks 60 and 70 in the XY directions largely when the position is measured by the image pickup device 147, the stroke amount can be set small. In other words, it becomes possible to specialize the guide function for alignment, which requires extremely fine positioning in the XY directions, to a short stroke, and to reduce the device cost of the optical axis alignment device accordingly. You can

Further, in this embodiment, the light receiving side block 70 is raised in the Z-axis direction in order to insert the CCD camera section 150 above the light emitting side block 60.
In the case of the axial direction, it is difficult for the displacement in the XY direction to occur, so
It is possible to further reduce the alignment error.

Further, in the second alignment step, only the light emitting side block 60 needs to be moved, and it is not necessary to move the image pickup device 147. In this way, the moving weight at the time of alignment is reduced, the inertial force is reduced, and alignment accuracy / alignment accuracy can be improved. This means that when selecting the position detecting device (imaging device) 147, the restriction of compactness and light weight is released, and as is realized by the present optical axis alignment device 100, a commercially available CCD is used. It becomes possible to actively adopt cameras and line sensors,
The equipment cost can be significantly reduced as compared with the use of PSD or the like. Although the CCD camera unit 150 is larger and heavier than the PSD or the like, the inertial problem does not occur if the detection mechanism 140 is independent of the light emitting side and light receiving side blocks 60 and 70 as described above.

Further, since the image pickup device 147 can be retracted when it is not necessary, a wide working space can be secured when the light emitting side / light receiving side blocks 60, 70 are attached to the device 100.

Although the light receiving surface of the image pickup device 147 is perpendicular to the optical axis direction of the LD 56 in the first embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a mirror 146 may be installed in front of the diffusion lens 148 as the image pickup device 147, and the optical axis S1 of the laser beam may be bent for position measurement. By doing so, it becomes possible to flexibly change the installation location of the CCD camera unit 150, for example, the CCD camera unit 15
0 can be installed horizontally, and the entire detection mechanism 140 can have a low center of gravity structure.

Next, an optical axis aligning device 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The other configuration except the detection mechanism 240 is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore, the reference numeral given to the optical axis aligning device 100 and the last two digits are matched to each other to align the optical axis. A description of each member in the device 200 is omitted.

In this optical axis aligning device 200, the position detecting device 247 is movably arranged along a predetermined detection side guide mechanism 243. The stroke of the detection side guide mechanism 243 is set to be slightly shorter than that of the first embodiment, and the position detection device 247 is separated from the optical axis of the light receiving side block 70 by a distance H (this is a measurement point). Position). On the other hand, the strokes of the Y-axis stage 214 and the X-axis stage 216 that move the light emitting side block 60 are set to be slightly larger than those in the first embodiment, and the light emitting side block 60 can be moved to the measurement point. That is, the light-receiving side position detecting device 247 and the light-emitting side block 60 approach each other at a common place (a place separated from the optical axis of the light-receiving side block 70 by a distance H in a predetermined direction), and the position detecting device 247 causes the light-emitting side block to move. The position of 60 can be detected.

The base 212 is provided with a first Z-axis guide 226 and a second Z-axis guide 228 via a bracket 224, the stroke of which is set to be significantly smaller than that of the first embodiment. This is the light emitting side block 60
Is actively moved to the above measurement point, so that the imaging device 247 is provided between the light receiving side block 70 and the light emitting side block 60.
This is because there is no need to insert.

Next, the centering step will be described.

When the worker installs the light emitting side block 60 and the light receiving side block 70 in the optical axis alignment device 200, the detection mechanism 240 is separated from the light receiving side block 70. This ensures a large working space. In the first centering step, the light-emitting side block 70 is moved to the measurement point as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 6, and the position detection device 247 is also moved to the same place so that the laser light emitted from the LD 56 Measure the exact position in the XY plane. After that, the detection mechanism 240 retreats, the light-emitting side block 60 approaches the light-receiving side block 70, and immediately the second
Enter the centering process.

In the optical axis aligning device 200, the strokes of the X-axis stage 216 and the Y-axis stage 214 are set to the first stroke.
Although it needs to be set a little larger than in the embodiment,
Nevertheless, since the detection mechanism 240 moves with a sufficient stroke, a rational function sharing is performed. That is, most of the moving stroke amount at the time of measurement is taken by the detection mechanism 240 side which is an independent member, and the Y-axis and X-axis stages 214 and 216 can be specialized to improve the final positioning (alignment) accuracy. Is taken into consideration.

As a result, the X-axis and Y-axis stage 21 concerned
It becomes possible to improve the accuracy of 6, 214 at a lower cost. Also in this device 200, since the detection mechanism 240 is held independently of the LD module 50, the positioning (alignment) accuracy is not deteriorated by the weight of the CCD camera unit 250.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the case where the image pickup device (for example, CCD) for detecting the laser light as an image is adopted as the position detecting device has been shown, but the present invention is not limited thereto and the laser light is received. Any device can be used as long as the position can be detected. In addition, the light emitting side optical component in the present invention is not limited to a component that emits light by itself such as an LD, but a component that emits light indirectly by being supplied with alignment light. It may be a waveguide or an optical fiber.

Further, in this embodiment, the LD module 50
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to all situations in which an optical axis alignment step is required as in the case of assembling an optical waveguide module or the like.

Although two embodiments are shown here,
There are embodiments in which these parts and the like are appropriately combined within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention, and further, there are various embodiments other than the embodiment shown this time. Furthermore, the shapes (functions and shapes) of the members appearing in the entire text of the specification are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these descriptions.

[0060]

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize highly accurate optical axis alignment in a short time while reducing equipment costs.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an optical axis alignment device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing the optical axis alignment device.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an enlarged detection mechanism of the optical axis alignment device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a transition of optical power measured via an optical fiber in a second aligning step by the optical axis aligning device.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing an optical axis alignment device according to another example of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing an optical axis alignment device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an LD module that is centered by a conventional optical axis centering device.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing the optical axis aligning device.

FIG. 9 is a top view showing the optical axis aligning device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a movement trajectory of a light emitting side optical component in an alignment process of the optical axis alignment device.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another conventional optical axis alignment device.

[Explanation of symbols]

50 ... LD module 100, 200 ... Optical axis aligning device 112, 212 ... Base 112A, 212A ... Stopper 114, 214 ... Y-axis stage 116, 216 ... X-axis stage 126, 226 ... Z1 axis stage 128, 228 ... Z2 axis stage 140, 240 ... Detection mechanism 142, 242 ... Bracket 143, 243 ... Detection-side guide mechanism 144, 244 ... Arm 146 ... Mirror 147, 247 ... Position detection device 148, 248 ... Diffusing lens 150, 250 ... CCD camera section

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A first member for holding a light-emitting side optical component for emitting light.
Between the light emitting side and the light receiving side optical component, the support member and the second supporting member holding the light receiving side optical component that receives the light are provided, and the first and second supporting members are relatively moved. In an optical axis aligning device that aligns so as to increase the amount of transmitted light, the light receiving side optical component has a wider receivable range than the light receiving side optical component and receives the light emitted by the light emitting side optical component. A position detecting device that detects the position of light, and the position detecting device can be moved independently of the first and second support members, and the position detecting device can be freely moved close to and away from the light emitting side optical component. An optical axis aligning device, comprising: 2. The detection-side moving device according to claim 1, wherein the detection-side moving device is a member independent of the first and second supporting members, and the bracket is capable of holding the position detecting device; And a detection-side guide mechanism that is movable independently of the second support member and that guides the position detection device so that the position-detection device can be moved closer to and away from the light-emitting side optical component. Core device. 3. The position detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the position detecting device is an imaging device, and the position of the light emitted from the light emitting side optical component is detected by performing image processing on an image captured by the imaging device. An optical axis aligning device. 4. The light-receiving side optical component according to claim 1, further comprising a light-receiving side guide mechanism capable of separating the light-receiving side optical component from the light-emitting side optical component, the light-receiving side optical component being provided by the light-receiving side guide mechanism. While being separated from the light emitting side optical component, the position detecting device is brought close to the light emitting side optical component to detect the position of light emitted by the light emitting side optical component. Axis alignment device.